will/attorney in MD

[Anonymous]

Hi,

There was a recent post about drawing up a will before the birth of a child - a very important topic and one that I've been thinking about a lot, as our first child is due in about 2 months.

Many thanks to the poster who recommended Legalzoom.com - that looks like a very good option, as we don't want to spend a ton of money and we have a relatively uncomplicated financial situation right now. However, I do want to consider using an attorney if I felt it would give us more peace of mind and wouldn't be too pricey. I did a search of the archives on this topic, and saw that a number of parents who had used a lawyer to draw up a will and related docs spent about $1000 for the basics. That's a bit more than we'd like to spend. I wonder if anyone has recommendations for attorneys who may charge less - I don't know if it's reasonable to try to find something in the $400-$500 range? We're located in Greenbelt, MD - so someone in MD (Greenbelt, Silver Spring, Rockville, Bethesda) or NW DC would probably be most convenient. I think we'd want to draw up a will as well as living will for each of us. I am confused about what Power of Attorney is and whether we need to draw something up for that as well.

I'd also welcome any other comments about what to make sure we include in the will, online resources, etc. TIA!

[Anonymous]

I know you were looking for recommendations for specific attorneys, but since you also asked about other resources, I wanted to mention Nolo/Quicken's Willmaker. This is a book/software that is very helpful explaining issues and also will draw up wills, durable power of attorney. etc.

I haven't ever looked at a LegalZoom will, but I do think the Willmaker does a good job of highlighting issues, and even if you don't ultimately use it to draft a will, the background info. you get will be well worth the $30 or so it costs.

Also, the estate tax is going to change significantly in the next 2-3 years, so one option is to get a basic will done now and then figure out if you need additional estate planning in a few years.

If I recall correctly, a power of attorney is basically the right to act for someone if they are incapacitated. A health care proxy is a specific form of a power of attorney for healthcare situations.

[Anonymous]

Jack F. Elder, Esq.
The Law Offices of Jack F. Elder, LLC
P.O. Box 41035
Bethesda, Maryland 20824
Toll Free  1(877) 533-5291 
Toll Free  1(877) JFE LAW1
Facsimile 1(866) 870-1816
Web Site www.jfelaw.com <http://www.jfelaw.com/>
E-mail [e-mail] <mailto:[e-mail]>
 

[Anonymous]

I was pleased with Robert McCarthy on East West Highway in Bethesda. Unlike others I had talked to, he didn't try to up-sell me into more sophisticated estate planning than we needed for our relatively simple and not rich lives. also provided a good list of things to get in order (papers, docs, instructions) in a safe deposit box to make things easier on survivors. he was also willing to stay late to accommodate our downtown jobs that kept us from getting out to MD by 5.

highly recommend him.

http://robertmccarthylaw.com/
4405 East West Highway, Suite 201, Bethesda, Maryland, 20814.
Monday - Friday, 9 am - 5 pm. Other hours are available by appointment.
Phone - [phone]
Email Address - [e-mail]